Puzzle



F. L. INCE;

PUZZLE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT-4. 1919.

' 1,327,3 Patented Jan. 6, 1920.

avwewtoz FRANK LESLIE INCE, OF MAPLEWOOD, MISSOURI.

PUZZLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 6, 1920.

' Application filed September 4, 1919. Serial No. 321,680.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK L. INGE, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of the city of Maplewood, in the county of St. Louis, State ofMissouri, have invented new and useful Improvements in Puzzles, of whichthe following is a specification.

This invention relates generally to games and toys and particularly to aform of puzzle, which constitutes an interesting amusement device and anattractive novelty suitable for effective use as an advertising article,favor, or the like.

The object of the invention is the provision of a puzzle of the linkvariety which presents an apparently insolvable problem for one notacquainted with the proper method of manipulating the device.

An ancillary object is the provision of such an article of manufacturewhich may be produced very cheaply and is thereby adapted for use as anadvertising device, or the like, intended for free distribution.

1 In the accompanying drawings I have shown an embodiment of theinvention, and illustrative views for showing the steps in the solutionof the problem presented by the device, but it will be understood thatthe article is susceptible of various minor changes of form, proportion,design, and the like, without departing from the scope of the invention,as indicated in the appended claims.

The invention is a puzzle of the link and maze variety, in which theproblem presented 'is the unlinking. or disconnecting of relativelymovable members which are apparently permanently linked together. Thearrangement is illustrated in Figure 1,

which shows a plan view of the device. Figs.

2 and 4 are plan views of the device showing the parts moved to alteredrelationships in the process of the solution. Fig. 3 is a plan viewillustrating certain positions of the parts in the working out of thepuzzle, and Fig. 5 is a plan view of an alternative form of one of theconstituent members of the device.

As shown in these drawings, particularly Fig. 1, it will be understoodthat the device is made up of a strand of wire having proper rigidity tomaintain its shape under the intended uses of the device, said strand ofwire being doubled upon itself and bent to form a body member of trefoilshape comprising a central loop 1 and the lateral loops 2 and 4. Thecentral loop 1 is substantially straight and forms a median andconnecting member for the lateral loops 2 and 4, which are convoluted,as shown, and which terminate in the sinuous end portions 5. The ends ofthe strand of wire are shaped to form the tangs 6, the space betweenwhich is alined with the loop 1, and the extremities of which are bentto form the rings 7. The trefoil body member and the constituent loopsthereof are closed by the closing link 8, which is a wire member havingits ends looped through the loops 7 and having its major portion formedas an elongated loop or link extending normally transversely of thetrefoil member. The connection of the closing link to the trefoil memberis such as to permit its being swung to a position at substantiallyright angles to its normal position so as to extend longitudinally of, I

and in part register with, the central loop 1, and the dimensions ofsaid closing link are such that when swung to such position either endwill extend substantially to the outer extremity of the loop 1.Permanently interlocked on the strand forming the trefoil member and theclosing link is a keeper 9, preferably of angular form, and mostconveniently of triangular form, as illustrated. Looped on the centralloop 1 and the keeper 9 is a removable member 10, which is mostconveniently of circular contour, and is of such dimension that itsremoval ofi the central loop 1 is prevented by the lateral loops 2 and4, and its removal from the keeper 9 is prevented by the size and formthereof. The dimension of the removable member 10 is such that it ismovable on to and off of the central loops 2 and 4 over the broadenedand sinuous extremities 5.- The problem.

presented by the puzzle is the removal of the member 10 from the otherparts The manner in which the removal of the member 10 is accomplishedis illustrated in Figs. 2, 3 and 4. In the explanation of the procedure,the successive positions of the removable member are designated bycapital letters, and the direction of movement by the arrows bearing thesmall letters. I have also designated one extremity of the closing link8 by the character X, as serving to identify the left-hand end of saidlink in all the views.

In the solution of the problem the keeper, with the removable member 10thereon, is moved up one side of the central loop 1 in the directionindicated by the arrow a, to a position on one of the bends of thesinuous extremity 5, as at the position A. The re movable member 10 isthen lifted from the keeper 9, and slipped over the sinuous extremity ofthe lateral loop to the position illustrated at B. The removable memberis then moved in the direction of the arrows b, c, and d, to theposition illustrated in Fig. 2 at D. The closing link 8 is then swung tothe position illustrated in Fig. 2, and the removable member is sliddown within the loops of the central loop 1 and the closing link, inthe. direction of the small arrow 6 to the position shown in Fig. 2 atThen the removable member is moved up along said loops in the directionindicated by the arrow 7 to the position illustrated in Fig. 8 at F.With the removable member in this position the closing link is thenswung in the direction illustrated by the dotted arrow in Fig. 2, to theposition illustrated in Fig. 3, and finally to the position illustratedin Fig. 4. At this swinging of the closing link, the removable member ispermitted to move down within the loops of said link and the centralloop 1 in the direction of the arrow 9 to the position illustrated at Gin Fig. l. The closing link having reached the position illustrated inFig. 4-, the removable member is then moved upwardly on said link andthe central loop in the direction of the arrow h to the positionillustrated at H. From such position it is advanced in the direction ofthe arrows i, is, Z, and m, and removed from the end of the lateral loopas at K. The removable member may be replaced by a reversal of theoperations, being replaced on the keeper when the latter is on one ofthe bends of one of the lateral members as shown at A in Fig. 1. I

If desired, the keeper 9 may have its sides flattened as illustrated inFig. 5, to afiord faces upon which advertising matter or other legendsmay be stamped or imprinted. This article, while providing aninteresting and puzzling amusement device, may be manufactured frominexpensive material at very low cost, so as to be salable in lots at avery small price. This adapts it particularly to use as a souvenir oradvertising novelty intended for free distribution.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A puzzle comprising a body member of trefoil form having convolutedlateral loops conjoined by a comparatively narrow median loop, said bodymember being closed by a movable closing link extending transversely ofthe body member and movable into position overlying the median loop, aclosed keeper permanently interlinked with the body member and closinglink, and a removable member retained on the keeper, said removablemember being movable from the keeper on to and off of-the loops of thebody member.

2. A puzzle comprising a body member of trefoil form having convolutedlateral loops conjoined by a comparatively narrow median loop, said bodymember being closed by a movable closing link extending transversely ofthe body member and movable into position overlying the median loop, aclosed keeper permanently interlinked with the body member and closinglink, and a removable member retained on the keeper, said removablemember being movable from the keeper on to and off of the loops of thebody member, and within the loops of the closing link and the medianloop.

3. A puzzle comprising a strand of wire shaped to form a body memberwith a central loop and lateral loops, a closing link formed of a strandhaving its ends connected respectively to the ends of the strand formingthe body member in such fashion as to permit the closing link to beswung over the central loop, a closed keeper permanently interlinkedwith the connected strands forming the body member and closing link, aremovable member strung on the body member exterior of the loops thereofand retained by the keeper against removal thereover, said removablemember being movable from the keeper onto the lateral loop and from onelateral loop on to the other lateral loop through the connecting linkand central loop.

FRANK LESLIE INOE.

